The number of Tasmanians travelling interstate for abortions has increased fivefold since the state’s only dedicated abortion clinic shut in January, Marie Stopes Australia has said.

The chief executive of Marie Stopes, Michelle Thompson, said the number of women from Tasmania who were visiting the Melbourne clinic had increased from about two a month to 10 or 12 a month since the closure of the Hobart clinic, which offered surgical terminations of pregnancies up to 12 weeks.